


Safe as strangers

by CoughinCoffee



Category: Uncharted4 - Fandom, uc4 - Fandom
Genre: Experiment, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Strangers, Superfluff, instant crush, kiss, strangers kiss, that youtube experiment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 13:07:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17663219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoughinCoffee/pseuds/CoughinCoffee
Summary: Raphael Adler partakes in an experiment to kiss a stranger on camera. Why? No idea.Samuel Drake signs up to kiss a random stranger on camera for no other particular reason than being bored.





	Safe as strangers

A sweet woman pointed him toward a spot in front of lights and cameras.

There were soothing tunes in the background, which accompanied the two shots of rum nicely, to calm his nerves.

If you’d ask him this very moment why he’d sign up for this experiment, he couldn’t say. Some extra merit, some experience, something different? Who knew. If you ask him why now, about five seconds later, he wouldn’t know what to say other than being happy that he did.

A tall man, ruggedly handsome with brown curly hair, a flat-out gorgeous stranger walked up to stand with him in front of the cameras where they were to be recorded. Actually, where they were already being recorded that very moment. 

A minute of staring seemed appropriate enough, then he stuck a hand out for the stranger to take.

Who eagerly took it.  
Cool.

  
“Hi, I’m Raphael. Or, Rafe.” The smile wouldn’t stop pushing, so who was he to try and push it down.  
“Hey. Hi Rafe, I’m Samuel. Or Sam.” The handsome stranger mirrored, displaying pearly whites.

“Hi Sam” Rafe's smile reached his eyes for a moment.

Another second passed. His hand was so warm. Comfortable.

“You’re very tall.” The smaller man observed intelligently, chuckling in nervous waves, he started letting go of the other’s hand reluctantly.  
Sam all but wheezed with similar nervousness. “Thank you, yes, I grew me myself.”  
The shorter man let out a suprised small laugh.  
Both grinned stupidly and shuffled slightly, seemingly unable to stand the hell still.

 

“So…” Rafe smiled still, while pushing his hands in his own back-pockets, tilting his head to the side.  
“Ever kissed a guy before?” He swayed a little back and forth forming his lips into a line.  
Sam chuckled shyly before pulling a hand up to scratch his neck.  
“Ah, well uhm, yeah. I dated a guy. Long time ago.” He shrugged at the information. He didn’t think telling this, earily beautiful stranger, that he usually only had flings and one-night stands and that his relationship-count could amount to about, three serious ones.

Somewhat serious.

“It was actually the first guy I came out to as bisexual, and uh,” He clicked his tounge, glancing from his shoes to Rafe.  
“.. yeah, we were pretty young. It was pretty good, but he moved away.” He felt like every word came out flimsy, like this story had no relevant red string what-so ever. Might be the very mezmering, distracting eyes, gazing at him curiously.  
“I get that.” The shorter man acknowledged, nodding.

“I came out to my best friend, as gay” He gestured toward himself as if it showed. “who replied with ‘me too’, though she’s a girl, so nothing more exciting happaned with that information.” He huffed a laugh.  
The tall man chuckled deeply, giving a few nods of his own.

This guys was so easy to talk to. You know, given you overlook the very distracting elements of... his eyes. And stuff.

“Uh, so, uh,” Sam turned to some of the crew, who he had more or less forgotten was there, just a couple that payed attention to them, while the rest went around and about doing stuff to make the situation feel more natural.  
“How uh,” Sam wiggled a finger back-and-forth between him and Rafe.

“How much are we allowed to talk? I mean, do we ruin it if we talk to much?”  
One of the people behind the camera simply shaked their head and waved toward them, telling them to have at it, let it feel natural. "Whenever you're ready!"

“So, it’s your first time in a.. stranger’s experiment too, I’m assuming?” Rafe continued, pulling up his hands, clapping them a little.  
“Uh yeah, yeah I- I mean I’ve met a lot of people, strangers, through work, which involves documeting a lot, but uhm,” He threw a look towards the machines filming them.  
“This is very different.” He huffed in laughs again.  
“Yea, I know what you mean. I meet strangers for a living but..” He waved around while speaking and dropped his hands to his thighs, smacking lightly.

Sam suddenly watched him with wider eyes, something looking like shock. Then it hit Rafe, who threw a hand up to his mouth to cover it in realization.  
“Oh my god.” He muffled through the fingers.  
Sam started showing teeth again in an slowly-growing amused manner. Both of them felt blood rushing, faces easily heating and giggles hard to surpress when minds flew head-first to innuendos in the company of a stranger.

“I’m in antique-sales business,” Rafe voice pitched, sounding defeated. “I mean I meet a lot of strangers and I have to find a bond with them in order to- I'm not- oh god” He flailed weakly while speaking, giggling the whole time, hands eventually stopped to cover his whole face.

Samuel looked at the smaller man shaking in snickers, adapting the happy shaking to his own shoulders as well, his arms hanging at his sides until they moved up to cross his ribs.  
“I mean, I suspected but I don’t actually judge, so” His grin left his jaw ajar after speaking.  
Rafe dared to look up, and let go of his face. He sniffed and wiped under an eye.  
“Well that’s great, becuase I’m making a great impression here.”

Even if he had been working in any type of escorting business, that would be a weak way to introduce it.  
The taller looked at him still grinning. Expression full of fondness.  
Rafe let his hands stay under his chin, fingers twirled together, looking up at Sam.

He cleared his throat, licked his lips.

“So uh, what do you do?” He let his hands fall down, fingers still twirled.  
“Well, Hey- ironic,” Sam gave him a look and his mouth made small smack after swallowing. “I’m somewhat of an archaeologist, not fully-licensed yet, but finding antique stuff isn’t unusual for me.”

Rafe let a looped grin fall into place. Meeting someone his own age who understood anything at all about his work was extremely rare.  
“Wow.” He managed.  
“Yeah, I… I’ve been doing it, pretty much my, uh, whole life. It kinda runs in the family.” Sam stuttered out. Damn. Did Rafe have to watch him like that.

  
Rafe threw a look to the crew then, none of them really paying attention to them anymore. He tried whispering to Sam.  
“..you think they did this on purpose?” He gave the taller man a suggestive look, pointing inbetween them.  
Sam raised a brow in a suggestive look of his own. “Well to be fair, I really wouldn’t mind if they did, either way.” It made the shorter snort lightly. “Me neither.”

They shuffled and fidgeted a little more. A little lulled from the high of letting a stranger know they were allowed to kiss you. A vey attractive stranger, who also made you feel safe, for some reason.

“Uh, am I allowed to ask how old you are?” Rafe suddenly looked puzzled. “Not that it matters," He quickly added "Just curious.”  
“I think so,” Sam threw a look to the people around but noone payed any real attention to them still.  
“I’ll be a rebel and tell you anyway,” Sam winked, which made Rafe’s face tint rosen.  
“I actually turned 30 last month.” Sam shrugged, unintressted in his own age.

All he recieved at first was a blank face at that. It took Rafe a moment.  
“I don’t know wether to congratulate you or call you a liar, 30, really?!” Rafe looked next to bewilired. “You look like 26, atleast.” He shook his head in disbelief.  
Sam threw him a side-look. “Is it a compliment if I say you look about 26, too?” Sam leaned back a little and made a braced face, cranking a wink. The other man just snorted again. “Yeah, why not. I’m almost 25, so looking older than I am is still kind of a sexy thing, isn't it? Or irrelevant, you know, whichever.” He shook his head again, not actually minding who thought he looked like what.

“Almost 25 huh, I’d say ‘that’s a great age’ but that makes me sound like 60, so..”

The shorter man scrunched his nose at him.  
“That is kind of a grampa-thing to say.”  
“My little brother does more-or-less call me a grampa.” He frowned, eyes toward the distance in thought.  
Rafe chuckled again, it was a great sound. Beautiful. Sam looked at him with that fondness again, grinning in success for helping that sound leave those lips.

And he kept looking.  
Rafe looking back.  
A beat went by.

“Your laugh is amazing-”  
“Your eyes are gorgeous-”

Both stopped in their tracks, catching up what the other had said and broke out in grins. Rafe's head tilted towards the floor again.

The taller man licked his lips, suddenly, serious and full of motivation, he moved to take a hold of Rafe’s hand. His heartbeat quickened. The action made the younger look up. Sam met his eyes with much more intent now. Not that he hadn’t been watching him carefully this whole time, but his eyes held a deeper meaning suddenly. There wasn’t any confusion to being here anymore.  
“You know you’re eyes are.. insane.” Sam said. “Like- stunning. Insanely stunning.”

Rafe looked like he’d just seen a star fall for the first time. Or a winter-wonderland. Or a red moon. Or a clear double-rainbow in a rainforrest or something amazing to put him in awe.

He inhaled, shuffling closer and it almost entirely closed their distance, just about a foot remaining inbewteen them.

Breath started to come in shorter takes.

Rafe reached slowly toward the older stranger, grabbing gently at his shirt.

“Uh, I,” Rafe talked quietly. The latter reached in return towards Rafe’s hips, guiding him to come even closer.

The shorter man let out a little huff when their bodies nudged. The scent of cologne and something like a hint of gasoline from a vehicle. Very alluring.

“Do you, uh…” Rafe tried again, looking down to the man’s colorbones. The hands on his hips were gentle. Inviting. Distracting.

“You smell very good.” Rafe finally breathed. Finally daring to look up at him again.

 Their eyes met. “So do you.”

Sam glance at his lips.

“I really wanna kiss you.” He said quietly.

Voice steady.

  
“Kiss me.” Rafe whispered.

 

His tummy felt tight from fluttering. That exciting kind, like when the roller-coster is about to send you flying down after feet upon feet of rolling upward.

Sam leaned in. By instinct eyelids closed just before the first touch. Almost nothing but a tickle, followed a second later by a soft, gentle push.

The flutters in Rafe’s tummy released into a million pieces, all bouncing around in there.

He inhaled through is nose. One of his hands automatically flew up behind Sam’s head. The kiss drifted off slightly, lips never completely parting before pushing close again. Sam let his tounge carefully lap the other's lips, asking if visiting was okay. Rafe parted his lips along with his own welcoming tounge.

Sam's chest basically vibrated, nervous and excited.

He tasted sweet, but not too sweet. A tad bit of coffee. A hint of ciggarette and, something else more sweet.

Bodies pressed closer, movements grew more a bit more relaxed and freely. Sam held Rafe tighter around his back when the kissing resulted in Sam practically dipping him.  
The kiss lingered. They slowed down. Parting to get air became essential eventually. Even if they didn’t part more than an inch or two at first. They stood up properly, still flushed close together.

Maybe they were shaking a little.  
Maybe their shaky breathing gave it away.  
Maybe they would need a moment, or several, before they could fully part.

“… so,” Rafe breathed.  
“So,” Sam echoed, smiling lazily, dazed thanks to the man in his arms.  
“Call me?” Rafe asked with a hopeful tone. All inhibitions be damned.  
“Friday?” Sam lit up brighter than a ray of summer sun.  
“Yeah!” Rafe nodded, very pleased.

Flutters wild in his chest.

 -

In retrospect, if the whole studio had gone quiet or not during their encounter, the two men who’d been recorded would never be able to answer. Atleast that’s what they claimed three years later in an interview for the experiment-partaking couples who are still dating.


End file.
